Residents of Richmond's worst public housing project are taking their concerns about deplorable living conditions to the federal government.

An Oakland law firm is working with residents of the 150-unit Hacienda development, many of them seniors and people with disabilities, to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The residents say they have complained for years about the squalid conditions at the six-story complex, but have received little help from the Richmond Housing Authority.

"The goal is to make sure that these various renters are treated fairly and with respect," said Guy Bryant of the law firm Bryant and Brown. "It's a pretty sad situation they've been living under, with no real response from the Housing Authority."

In the coming weeks, the firm's lawyers will be talking to Hacienda residents to gather stories and documentation to put in a formal complaint with HUD, which oversees the nation's public housing.

The agency has 180 days to respond, after which the residents can sue if they aren't satisfied.

Ruined possessions

Residents who have lost possessions because of problems such as roof leaks or have health troubles as a result of their living conditions could be entitled to money, said Meredith Brown, another attorney at the firm.

"The residents felt they needed advocacy," she said. "They have tried on their own to get things resolved, to no avail."

The Center for Investigative Reporting exposed the problems plaguing Hacienda residents in stories last week. In the most recent inspection, nearly a fifth of the units at the complex on Roosevelt Avenue were infested with insects. There are cracks in the floors and walkways. The roof has leaked since at least 2006.

No help

Residents say their pleas for help with mice, insects and basic maintenance are ignored. Even when the Housing Authority does send workers to deal with maintenance requests, residents say, the problems often aren't fixed.

"You get tired of beating a dead horse," said Edward Dunlap, a paralyzed Marine Corps veteran who lives in Hacienda. "They don't give a damn."

Dunlap said it took the Housing Authority more than two months to fix his shower last year. In the meantime, he had no water and bathed in neighbors' apartments.

Tenants pay a subsidized rent. Almost 90 percent pay between $200 and $500 a month, according to HUD.

City officials have pledged to address the problems, and residents say they've begun to see changes.

At a City Council meeting last week, the Housing Authority's executive director, Tim Jones, admitted that Hacienda was uninhabitable and said he was pushing to have it torn down.

The city also has hired outside contractors to visit all the public housing units in Richmond starting this week to find problems and ask residents about their past maintenance requests.

Jones said the Housing Authority had "fallen short" in providing safe and sanitary housing to residents and was committed to improving maintenance.

$7 million debt

The agency is about $7 million in debt and has suffered from years of contracting problems, bookkeeping issues and conflicts of interest, according to federal auditors.

It has been on the federal government's "troubled" list since 2009, and HUD has threatened to take it over if the agency doesn't turn around its management and finances.

Brown said pledges of change aren't enough. She said she's getting involved to ensure that HUD is aware of the problems and to see to it that the residents' needs are addressed for good.

"The system has failed these people," Brown said. "We need to make sure this thing gets resolved so when the limelight goes away, we don't go in circles again."

This story was produced by the independent, nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting, the country's largest investigative reporting team. For more, visit cironline.org. E-mail: aharris@cironline.org